Is it possible to create a 'shortcut link' instead of 'symbolic link' to a folder?

Solution 1:

Right-click on Desktop (or in any folder in Nautilus), Create Launcher, set Type to Location, set the name type and type in the location (annoyingly if you click Browse it will only accept a file), click OK.

Solution 2:

Create a launcher with the command

nautilus "$path"

where $path is the folder path.

Solution 3:

One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is with a Link-type desktop file. In your case, create a text file in ~/Desktop called e.g. folder.desktop with these contents:

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Link to folder
Type=Link
URL=file:///home/scott/Documents/asd/folder/
Icon=folder

Now when you double-click it, instead of

/home/scott/Desktop/folder/

the file manager will open

/home/scott/Documents/asd/folder/

so the parent directory will be

/home/scott/Documents/asd/

as you desire.

Note that the URL field is a file:// URL, so unlike symbolic links only absolute paths will work. If you find it troublesome to generate the desktop files by hand, some file managers have this feature built-in.

Related:

• How do I create an shortcut to a folder(not a symlink) in Ubuntu 18.04 like shortcuts in windows

• Make link open target file, not file at link location

• https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/310618/is-it-possible-to-create-a-soft-link-on-my-desktop-which-opens-with-the-target-p